The Web: Little Screen, Big Opportunities

Until recently, the biggest payoff that most non-professional videographers could hope for was the pleasure of screening their videos in their living rooms before an admiring circle of family and friends. Now, however, and seemingly overnight, the Internet has metamorphosed from a utilitarian tool used by relatively few for e-mail and research to a viable entertainment medium. Suddenly, a powerful and inexpensive means of distribution for videographers is here.
There are scores of stories about amateurs who have put their video projects on the Web and become overnight sensations. They’ve garnered attention for themselves and a lucky few have even gone on to the big time, signing Hollywood deals and quitting their day jobs to work in their own field of dreams.
Although the most dramatic rags-to-riches stories involve amateurs, professionals are also cashing in on the Internet. It’s given them a virtual gallery to display their best work sometimes a piece specifically designed to shine in this new medium. This exposure has helped some people suddenly shoot several rungs up on the professional ladder. Others have found it’s given them valuable entry into Hollywood power circles opening doors that had previously been closed to them. And some pros are finding ways to use the Internet as a new, if still modest, revenue stream.
Even videographers with no professional aspirations are responding to the lure of the Internet. While they once had to be content with the few people they could coerce into watching their videos, they can now show their work to millions around the globe. And most sites provide a mechanism for online feedback, giving the videographer valuable viewer response.

Encouraging Trends

Initially the majority of shorts on the Web were shot on film and converted to video. But there’s a growing number of works done completely on video from start to finish. For example, one of the breakout successes on the Web is a short called "405," a three-minute comedy about a jet landing on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles. Two friends, working nights and on weekends, collaborated to create this combination of live-action video and computer generated special effects.
According to the pair, they created the special effects on the kind of computer equipment that you can easily find at a consumer electronics store. The hit piece is featured on IFILM (www.ifilm.com), a popular site for shorts (as well as longer pieces) on the Web.
Another venue that features more and more video productions is AtomFilms (www.atomfilms.com). According to Anne Rosellini, the site’s acquisitions manager, the number of videos appearing on the Web is increasing, especially those shot on digital video. Some Web sites that specialize in shorts, such as Eveo.com (www.eveo.com), specifically target videographers.
Similarly, while most of the attention had originally focused on story-based fictional pieces, documentaries and other non-fiction shorts are also burgeoning on the Web. This is good news. Since the Web caters to niche programming, videographers who produce less-commercially viable videos now have a venue and audience for their work. Eveo, for example, not only lists such standard genres as comedy and short fiction, but also travel, true life and sports pieces.
This trend toward including more non-fiction shorts can be seen on other sites as well.
"We are slowly experimenting with putting documentaries up on the site with quite stunning results… audiences really like them," Rosellini said.
She explained that non-fiction pieces with the greatest appeal are those that focus on interesting people.
"Nothing beats an engaging character," she said. "It’s tough to do a documentary that’s very short but engaging shortness being important on the Web but I’ve seen a number of delightful documentaries which act more as character sketches than anything else.

Give Them What They Want

Web sites that specialize in film and video shorts vary widely in how selective they are and how they compensate artists. Two of the most popular sites, IFILM and AtomFilms, for instance, have radically different content and compensation policies.
IFILM, with 2,500 works in its own library and links to an additional 7,500 more, is the largest site of its kind on the Net. The site operates in a democratic fashion and doesn’t reject anything that is submitted, as long as it’s in the proper format (video or digital files) and doesn’t violate three firm rules: no pornography, no movie trailers and no home movies. But what exactly constitutes a home movie?
According to Jon Fitzgerald, IFILM’s VP of Programming, a home movie is "…a dog running out to get the paper and dropping it on the couch or a video of your grandkid’s graduation."
For those who want to avoid the home-video label, Fitzgerald recommends that the piece should have a premise, a concept or a subject of some kind. He went on to suggest that a piece should explore a central theme or question.
IFILM shows works from every visual medium and genre. Fitzgerald said that animation, spoofs, comedies and experimental works are among the most popular pieces on the site, while some documentaries have worked quite well.
Unlike most other sites, IFILM has no limitation on length and even includes feature-length works. Although the longer pieces are slower to attract an audience, since they take longer to download, Fitzgerald says length isn’t necessarily an impediment. He pointed out that one of the site’s most popular offerings is a spoof of the movie Matrix, called Computer Boy, which weighed in at 49 minutes. Still, the vast majority of IFILM’s most successful pieces are far shorter, many running under ten minutes.
Although IFILM doesn’t pay for the work it shows, the deals it makes are non-exclusive, which means artists can shop their works to other sites as well. And what IFILM doesn’t offer in terms of money, it can give in promotional value. Since it is so popular, it can be a valuable way to get your work seen by those who will pay for your talents.

A Different Approac…